How many times have you tried not to spill all the purchases from the shopping bags you are holding while opening the door of your home? Or realized you forgot your Ov-chip/ Oyster card only when you already were at the station? Or turned upside down your whole purse to find your car keys while they were actually in your pocket? I know all of you experience at least one of the aforementioned situations nearly every day. Haven’t you asked yourself the question- “how can I liberate myself from such mundane obstacles?
Luckily, scientists came up with a solution- a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip integrated in your body. Imagine all the data you need to be stored in one place at your disposal anytime. For those of you who have never heard of it, RFID is not even a new technology. Thousands of people around the world have already been using it for a couple of years. Some people have even buried more than one chip under their skin while the popularity of RFID chips is stunningly growing. They do not longer have to carry a tie with keys or remember every single password of all the personal accounts anymore. Some of the functionalities and the potential of the RFID chips are impressive- a Swedish developer even claims to have replaced his bike lock with an implant in his head (Osborne,2015). The convenience of the technology is indisputable.
RFID chips not only help users with daily routines but can even safe their lives. The technology is used to store important lifesaving data of people with chronical diseases or special health conditions. For instance, epileptics ‘often wear pendants that identify them as having epilepsy and sometimes provide emergency contacts and some basic information on how to help a person having a seizure’ (Adam, 2016). However, the pendants can be easily lost while the RFID chips cannot because they are implanted in the body.
Unfortunately, payment with user’s credit card data is not possible yet. However, this is not true for Bitcoin wallets’ owners. “The method is called a Bitcoin “bio-payment” because it allows for the sending and receiving of funds using data stored inside the user’s body.” (De Looper,2015). The main advantage is that you can lose your wallet but not your hand. Still, putting all of your eggs in one basket is a risky decision. The more advanced the functionalities of the implants become and the more sensitive the data stored gets, the more concerned are people about their privacy.
People are afraid that the RFID chips can be hacked. Some of them even believe that other people who are in close distance can stole their personal info or store illegal content on their implants. In fact, there is no institution or organization accountable for privacy protection. “Privacy advocates have long warned that the chips could allow individuals to be tracked by governments and corporations, even when they’re merely housed in passports or clothing, not to mention injected subcutaneously.”(Greenberg,2012) In addition, you can get infected if the chips is not implanted by professional. Many people are careless and would rather go to a tattoo studio than doctor’s cabinet which can impose risk to their health
As shown above, the RFID chip technology does still have some important issues to resolve but it nevertheless seems to be the future of storing information. I am convinced that its full potential is yet to be unfolded. Manufacturing companies build-in implants in products to track work in progress, warehouses do the same to track data on inventory, employers implant chips in employees to grand them access to buildings or restricted areas. It is a matter of time when will be able to pass through the security at the airport or pay for grocery at the supermarket with one wave of a hand or even a blink of an eye.
Reference
Adam, N. (2016). When Information Storage Gets Under Your Skin. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/when-information-storage-gets-under-your-skin-1474251062
Osborne,Charlie(2015). Chips under the skin: Biohacking, the connected body is ‘here to stay’ | ZDNet. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://www.zdnet.com/article/chips-under-the-skin-the-connected-body-is-here-to-stay/
Watts, Julie(2016). People Are Implanting Microchips Under Their Skin To Improve Their Lives. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/06/22/people-are-implanting-microchips-under-their-skin-to-improve-their-lives/
De Lopper,Christian(2015). This Chip Is Implanted Under The Skin And Used To Pay For Things Using Bitcoin. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://www.techtimes.com/articles/102366/20151102/chip-implanted-under-skin-used-pay-things-using-bitcoin.htm
Greenberg,Andy(2012).Wanted and RFID chip implaneted into your hand?Here’s what the DYI surgery looks like. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/08/13/want-an-rfid-chip-implanted-into-your-hand-heres-what-the-diy-surgery-looks-like-video/#185db98c2ed2
